Teal Deer Crossing
I'm detecting tl;dr, so let me summarize this topic, as well as things we've learned from past compos, polls, and the like. I'll edit a link to this post into the first post on page 1.
- We need to set a date, but 3 months isn't long enough for preparing a quality entry in spare time. A December 31 deadline isn't helpful because holidays are hectic. We're thinking June 1, 2016, through January 31, 2017.
- Anything substantially finished and widely available to the general public before the compo is disqualified. According to NESHomebrew, this rule is "intended to exclude entries that had already been 100% completed, available to the mass public for distribution, or released on cartridge (not including one-off prototypes or small runs for friends etc)." We may still need to fine-tune the wording for this.
- To attract a greater volume of entries, use participation prizes, such as a physically distinctive copy of the resulting multicart or a T-shirt or some (inexpensive) developer hardware. We're still offering cash for entries that win (#1), place (#2), or show (#3), on the order of $250, $150, $80, or $256, $128, $64. If you win a category, you cannot place or show in the same category, and if you place, you cannot show.
- A way to share progress with the public without disqualifying one's entry is desirable. It helps to identify entries that cannot be included for a legal or other serious reason. This could be rewarded with bonus points at judging time or a hardware prize at halfway time.
- A category with a mandatory "theme", such as a harsh size limit or playing as a bee, would probably not be popular enough to draw entries. Stick with a 64K discrete category (N/CN/UN/AN/BNROM) and anything goes, but possibly add bonus points for meeting an optional theme.
- The 2011 and 2014 compos didn't produce the expected 512K of material for a cart, and carts were delayed until out-of-compo homebrew releases could be found to fill them. We may want to run compos more often to produce one cart from two compos' entries. This may encourage more polished work, as a work can be delayed until a later compo, but may also complicate funding the prizes.
- B00daW wants an original 2A03-only music compo, encouraging engine innovation rather than just exporting NSF from FamiTracker like 232 out of 275 Famicompo Pico entries did.